(For Punjab farmers only) Poplar wood and bark is the most preferred raw material
for making plywood, matchsticks, boards, boxes for packaging, sports goods and pencils.
Under this scheme, all the Agricultural Developments Banks in Punjab advance a loan
amount of Rs. 1,16,000, in eight equal yearly installments, for planting 5000 poplars
in one hectare of land.

The loan is given as per the details given below:

1. The application must be submitted to the Bank through the Department of Forest.

2. For availing the loan a minimum of 150 poplar trees are required to be planted.

3. The borrower must have adequate arrangement to water the plants.

4. The State Department of Forest gives 12-15 feet tall poplar plants on subsidised
rates. For the purchase of plants, the Bank on behalf of the farmer/planter gives
the money directly to the Department out of his sanctioned loan.

The borrower will have to return the full amount
of loan after the completion of ninth year, since the first eight years will be
treated as grace period subject to the repayment of interest, which will have to
be paid back annually.

Some important information regarding poplar plants:

1. Poplar can only be planted in the month of January and February.

2. Poplars cannot be planted in
barrenland, termite-ridden land, dry sand, and land with layers of small stones.

3. When trees are planted in the farm, there should be a distance of 5 x 4 metre.
But when planted around the borders, hedges in the central dividing lanes or in
straight lines the distance will vary in each and every case.

4. The State Forest Department provides the needed technical information free of
cost to the planters.

5. A grown tree of approximately 90 cm diameter can be sold for Rs 550/-.

6. The land/field where poplars are planted, can be used for cultivating all kinds
of produce, except rice.

Technical Guidelines of the Forest Department for Other Schemes

Crop (Time of Planting)

Distance

Number of Plants

Yield Year

Cost

Repayment Time

Grace Period

Eucalyptus/
Kikkar(Acacia)
(Monsoon)

3 M

2M

Eu=1600
Ki =200

10th Year

1600-3100/

200

12 Years

11 Years

Jatrofa
(Monsoon)

2 M

2500

4th Year

1,11,000

4 Years

3 Years

Bamboo
(Monsoon)

5 M

2500

5th Year

1,57,635

4 Years

3 Years

Year Wise Unit Cost (1 Hectare) in Rupees

The Schemes of the Forest Dept.

Year

Poplar

Eucalyptus/Kikkar

Jatrofa

Bamboo

1

31579

21332

28,240

13,300

2

15994

7698

9080

3830

3

13396

1994

6980

1670

4

14306

---

8340

1670

5

13681

---

9030

3050

6

9121

---

9370

3050

7

9121

---

8000

3050

8

9121

---

8000

3050

9

---

---

8000

3050

10

---

---

8000

3735

11

---

---

8000

3735

12

---

---

8000

3735

13

---

---

---

3735

14

---

---

---

3735

— To find the
nearest Primary Agriculture Development Bank (PADB) branch from your village/town,
and read more about loan mechanism, kindly go to the 'PADB Loans'
section in Schemes Channel